GILGIT: Three tourists who went missing after a snow avalanche hit a tourist point near Karimabad’s Ultar Glacier in Hunza on Monday are feared to have died.

A rescue operation launched to find the missing tourists on Monday evening continued on Tuesday. Personnel of Pakistan Army and Gilgit-Baltistan Police, members of Ismaili Boys Scout and a large number of local volunteers took part in the operation. But they remained unsuccessful in finding the missing tourists from mudslides of the snow avalanche in Ultar Nallah.

According to sources, five young tourists were in their camp when the snow avalanche from Ultar Glacier hit it. Two of them, Syed Anwar and Wajid from Altit village of Hunza, managed to escape. But, the three others — identified as Shani from Lahore and Jibran and Ehlayan also from Altit village — went missing.

Local experts believe that the three young men may not be any more in mudslides and that they are now buried under stones of the avalanche.

They said it was the first incident of its kind in the area.

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2018